BIG EAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 7, 2025

Erin Batth

Mohegan Sun Arena

Providence Friars

Postgame Media Conference

Georgetown 58, Providence 56

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Providence head coach, Erin Batth. We'll take an opening statement from Coach and open it up to questions. Coach.

ERIN BATTH: So that was a tough one. You know, there's so much good that I did see in the game. I thought our women didn't give up, which is something I've always prided my program to be about.

We were down quite a bit, came back, got down again. What a roller coaster. But overall very proud of these women. I mean, I just am.

It's so crazy. I was just talking to the team. I didn't have the right words to say goodbye to so many people. Ten seniors is a lot. I just really wanted for them -- want to give Georgetown some praise too. They did a really good job, even without their bigs in there. I thought they did a good job as well.

But I mean, when it comes down to the last few minutes of a game like this when you have All-Conference players on both teams, I was hoping that it would -- we'd be able to play. So I'll just leave it at that.

It was a good game. Hopefully people can see the good that we're trying to do here at Providence College trying to get this program turned around and want to give all the credit to these players and also to my staff. What a year. That's what I got, y'all.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. First and foremost, Coach, is Olivia Olsen okay? I saw that she was helped off the court.

ERIN BATTH: Yeah, thanks for asking. She's hurting, but I think she'll be all right. She's in great care, but it will take a minute. But she's tough. From the very beginning ever since I met that child, she's always let me be me, and she's been very responsive. Even with the little bangs and bruises, she's done well. She'll be okay.

Q. I love that you used that word tough. When we spoke with you yesterday you said her legacy -- that was the first word you used to describe her legacy. When we watched that last play, she had the moment. She goes down clearly injured. The entire bench, your entire team, all of your players, rushed over to her to make sure that she was okay. What does that say about the legacy of who she is as a teammate and a person?

ERIN BATTH: That's so great. It's really even our program. Because since day one, even just me being a post player myself, I've always been a part of great teams. I had great post players. So I came in here and put a lot of pressure on this child, and she really was, like, What? The team really bought in, but it says a lot to just being a family, ups and downs.

I really pride myself on just yelling at everybody. They all know that I yell at everybody, so they're all in the same boat together. I tell them, hey, someone has to row it. I love that. That's just who we are. That's who they are. Thanks for asking that.

Q. The final play, I'm sure it's something that you practice, you draw up. Just what did you think about the execution there? Obviously it almost fell.

ERIN BATTH: It was good. I was trying to capitalize on our height, Olivia's ability to jump. Actually, she can dunk, which people don't even know. We went with a little back screen there. I thought the pass was really good. Probably was fouled, I think, but I'm not an official. I loved how she kept the ball high and tapped it in, something that we did practice. Really a lot of respect for those players for just doing it.

I love it because I always ask them, how do you feel? Because I'm not out there with you. Can we run it? Yes, ma'am. And we did. Very proud of them for doing that.

Q. You had a great year. When you went into the locker room, what did you say to your players? What did you get from the season?

ERIN BATTH: Well, y'all, if you don't know me, I'm a big old cry baby. I ask the Lord always give me the right words, and I didn't have any. So I boo-hooed and hugged every last one of them. Put my hands on them and said I love you.

Just really wanted to thank them for staying because the days of portal it's different. Most of our seniors have been here for four years, which is a blessing. I love that. I wanted to thank them for that.

Our Director of Athletics, Steve Napolillo, had some really great words too, just talking about building a foundation for the future to come. So we talked about that. I told them to hold their heads up high.

I always say to my women that whenever we play, I don't want to be forgotten. I don't think you'll forget that game. That was a tough one. Really blessed to be a part of that.

We talked about that. And just let them know I will always be in their lives. Because this is a privilege what I get to do, to be in their lives and coach them. But it goes far beyond that, always have. We talked about that, and I cried some more. I know, cry baby.

We all huddled around Olivia because she couldn't stand up, and I'm here talking to you now. Thank you.

Q. In terms of this senior class, what kind of foundation do you feel like it laid out for what you want to do with the program going forward?

ERIN BATTH: Right. I think when you take over a program, you have to figure out -- again, yeah, your culture is number one -- what you stand for, what do you want to be known for. So I use always my life experiences when I coach. I am now releasing ten of my babies out into the world, which is wild, right? Are they ready?

So it's always about being tough. And Steve said in the locker room -- which is great, wonderfully said -- that game was like life. You get knocked down. You got to get up. You got to get up again and again and again. That's really the message, you know.

That's what I want to be known for. If you play -- if you are coming to be a Friar, you're going to be ready and be tough and take care of yourself. You are going to get knocked down. I might knock you down too. I'm going to get you right back up. So that's one thing that we talk about. I know they're going to be just fine. Plus, I'm going to be in their lives forever, so they can't get rid of me.

Q. Just a thought on Kelsey Ransom and how difficult she is to try to stop, obviously. Had a career high tonight.

ERIN BATTH: That's what I was trying to figure out. What did she have? 36. That child is good. Fun to watch. Excited about her future.

But just trying to mix it up. We went to zone there. We went to where we tried to face guard her a little bit and deny her a little bit there. She still seems to be able to get -- she's athletic, first of all, athletic and strong and a great rebounder.

She drew eight fouls, which is huge. People forget about that. That's a big stat when you can draw fouls and get the other opponent into foul trouble.

She's just a great player. I mean, just great. She doesn't stop. She played all 40 minutes. Okay. I'm going to definitely give her a lot of credit. She loves where she plays, and I love that. You love to see a player who fights for their school, you know, and I want that.

She's great, magnificent. Didn't shoot the three that well. She got some. She did okay. She was 2 for 4, good. Her downhill game was what we were really trying to stop and trying to build a wall. But we switched -- tried to switch there, and she still got her shot off. She's good. She's a good one.

Q. I know you've signed a big class, but the next month or two is obviously going to be very busy with ten players going out. What do you anticipate you and the staff trying to get done in the portal here?

ERIN BATTH: Yeah. We have five freshmen coming in. Definitely looking to get at least three out of the portal, maybe more. Try to mix it up there.

I do like the freshmen coming in. They're good. They know what it takes to win, which I love. Tough players. A couple of them that are here today.

Yeah, you have to be really organized with the portal too, and you have to be really smart. We want really good people. So the vetting of these prospects in the portal is huge, so we've come up with a system. We're just going to be in the portal -- I mean, portaling, if you will.

Then, yeah, get them on campus and see what we can get. Thanks for asking.